Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable disease and even deaths in the United States. Further, obesity is a major threat to public health to all Americans irrespective of their age and even social status. Parents and children require education on healthy eating and prevention of obesity among the adolescents (Regber, Berg-Kelly & Marild, 2007). This paper discusses how parents and children can eat in a health way and prevent obesity in the adolescent population and how nurse practitioners can help them achieve these goals.
Eating healthy and Prevention of Obesity in Adolescent population
In her article, Cynthia McAdams discusses environmental issues that affect eating and physical activities that may lead to overweight among children. The author states that a positive relationship exists between environment and health outcomes (McAdams, 2010). For instance, current family lifestyles show abundant energy-dense food while physical activity levels are at their lowest. Such situation creates an environment that promotes obesity in children and adolescents. Imperatively, parents and adolescent must be taught how to eat in a healthy way and prevent obesity. The responsibility of teaching these two groups lies with nurse practitioners (NPs). Nurse practitioners have the duty of controlling the development of overweight in all age groups and across all socioeconomic settings and ethnic composition. Nurses must identify adolescent at risk and those overweight and translate present research findings into their practices. Further, the nurses can help prevent obesity and overweight by creating and implementing strategies targeted at families and different age groups within the population (McAdams, 2010). These strategies must address both positive and negative environmental influences on obesity in children and adolescents.
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Again, nurse practitioners must include adolescents in their planning process so that they can improve their adherence to the recommended weight management strategies and effect change of behavior. The nurses must emphasize the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle, incorporation of proper exercise and necessary diet protocols to prevent or mitigate the prevalence of childhood overweight and enhance abnormal metabolic markers (Regber et al., 2007). The nurses must also emphasize the need to reduce sedentary activities as a means of addressing the overweight epidemic in children and adolescents. For instance, parents must understand that reducing time for watching television and playing computer games helps in reducing sedentary lifestyle and increase the potential for physical activity (McAdams, 2010). The nurses should recommend to parents that watching television and playing computer games should be limited to about two hours each day. Furthermore, having positive experiences with physical activity at a young age forms an essential foundation for lifelong physical activity and a positive attitude towards the same.
Having school-based strategies aimed at reducing overweight and obesity rates among children and adolescents is critical because children and adolescents spend most of their time in these settings (McAdams, 2010). The school environment offers consistency and is conducive to the provision of regular exercise or physical activity and healthy food. For example, quality physical activity lessons instituted in school programs are a critical method for engaging children and adolescents in physical activity. Additionally, nurses need to embrace research and evidence-based practice when dealing with parents and adolescents in efforts to prevent and reduce overweight and obesity in the country (Regber et al., 2007). Such studies are critical in identifying gaps in efforts to address the problem. For example, treatment and prevention interventions should be considered from an ecological approach so as to enhance adherence to the plans. The ecological approach to the obesity pandemic can only be effective if nurse practitioners engage parents and adolescents with the problem.
It follows that teaching parents and adolescents on measures to prevent and reduce overweight and obesity is a critical responsibility of nurse practitioners as patient educators and advocates. The nurse practitioners need to emphasize the importance of strategies that can lead to improved healthy lifestyles, eating habits and need for physical activity in addressing the problem.
References
McAdams, C.B. (2010) The environment and pediatric overweight: A review of nurse
practitioners, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners , vol.22, pp.460-467.
Regber, S., Berg-Kelly, K., and Marild, S. (2007) Parenting Styles and Treatment of
Adolescents with Obesity; Continuing Nursing Education Series. Pediatric Nursing , Vol.33, No.1, pp. 21-28.
